左右

Chinese

		left	right (-hand)
simp. and trad. (左右)		左	右

Pronunciation

Mandarin
(Standard)
(Pinyin): zuǒyòu
(Zhuyin): ㄗㄨㄛˇ ㄧㄡˋ
(Chengdu, SP): zo³ you⁴
Cantonese (Jyutping): zo² jau⁶, zo² jau^6-2
Hakka (Sixian, PFS): chó-yu
Jin (Wiktionary): ze² iou³
Min Dong (BUC): cō̤-iêu
Min Nan
(Hokkien, POJ): chó͘-iū / chó-iū
(Teochew, Peng'im): zo² iu⁶

Mandarin
- (Standard Chinese)⁺
  - Hanyu Pinyin: zuǒyòu → zuǒyou (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Zhuyin: ㄗㄨㄛˇ ㄧㄡˋ → ㄗㄨㄛˇ ˙ㄧㄡ (toneless final syllable variant)
  - Tongyong Pinyin: zuǒyo̊u
  - Wade–Giles: tso³-yu⁵
  - Yale: dzwǒ-you
  - Gwoyeu Romatzyh: tzuoo.yow
  - Palladius: цзою (czoju)
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡swɔ²¹⁴⁻²¹¹ joʊ̯⁵¹/ → /t͡swɔ²¹⁴ joʊ̯⁴/
- (Chengdu)
  - Sichuanese Pinyin: zo³ you⁴
  - Scuanxua Ladinxua Xin Wenz: zoju
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡so⁵³ iəu²¹³/
Cantonese
- (Standard Cantonese, Guangzhou)⁺
  - Jyutping: zo² jau⁶, zo² jau^6-2
  - Yale: jó yauh, jó yáu
  - Cantonese Pinyin: dzo² jau⁶, dzo² jau^6-2
  - Guangdong Romanization: zo² yeo⁶, zo² yeo^6-2
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡sɔː³⁵ jɐu̯²²/, /t͡sɔː³⁵ jɐu̯²²⁻³⁵/

Note: zo2 jau6-2 only used in the adverb sense.

Hakka
- (Northern Sixian, incl. Miaoli)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chó-yu
  - Hakka Romanization System: zo` iu
  - Hagfa Pinyim: zo³ yiu⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡so³¹ i̯u⁵⁵/
- (Southern Sixian, incl. Meinong)
  - Pha̍k-fa-sṳ: chó-yu
  - Hakka Romanization System: zo` (r)iu
  - Hagfa Pinyim: zo³ yiu⁴
  - Sinological IPA: /t͡so³¹ (j)i̯u⁵⁵/
Jin
- (Taiyuan)⁺
  - Wiktionary: ze² iou³
  - Sinological IPA (old-style): /t͡sɤ⁵³ iəu⁴⁵/
Min Dong
- (Fuzhou)
  - Bàng-uâ-cê: cō̤-iêu
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡so³³⁻⁵⁵ iɛu²⁴²/
Min Nan
- (Hokkien: Quanzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chó͘-iū
  - Tâi-lô: tsóo-iū
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zofiu
  - IPA (Quanzhou): /t͡sɔ⁵⁵⁴⁻²⁴ iu⁴¹/
- (Hokkien: General Taiwanese, Xiamen, Zhangzhou)
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī: chó-iū
  - Tâi-lô: tsó-iū
  - Phofsit Daibuun: zoyiu
  - IPA (Taipei): /t͡so⁵³⁻⁴⁴ iu³³/
  - IPA (Kaohsiung): /t͡sɤ⁴¹⁻⁴⁴ iu³³/
  - IPA (Xiamen, Zhangzhou): /t͡so⁵³⁻⁴⁴ iu²²/
- (Teochew)
  - Peng'im: zo² iu⁶
  - Pe̍h-ōe-jī-like: tsó iŭ
  - Sinological IPA ^(key): /t͡so⁵²⁻³⁵ iu³⁵/

Middle Chinese: /t͡sɑ^X|t͡sɑ^H ɦɨu^X|ɦɨu^H/

Rime
Character	左	左	右	右
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/2	2/2
Initial (聲)	精 (13)	精 (13)	云 (35)	云 (35)
Final (韻)	歌 (94)	歌 (94)	尤 (136)	尤 (136)
Tone (調)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)	Rising (X)	Departing (H)
Openness (開合)	Open	Open	Open	Open
Division (等)	I	I	III	III
Fanqie	臧可切	則箇切	云久切	于救切
Reconstructions
Zhengzhang Shangfang	/t͡sɑ^X/	/t͡sɑ^H/	/ɦɨu^X/	/ɦɨu^H/
Pan Wuyun	/t͡sɑ^X/	/t͡sɑ^H/	/ɦiu^X/	/ɦiu^H/
Shao Rongfen	/t͡sɑ^X/	/t͡sɑ^H/	/ɣiəu^X/	/ɣiəu^H/
Edwin Pulleyblank	/t͡sa^X/	/t͡sa^H/	/ɦuw^X/	/ɦuw^H/
Li Rong	/t͡sɑ^X/	/t͡sɑ^H/	/ɣiu^X/	/ɣiu^H/
Wang Li	/t͡sɑ^X/	/t͡sɑ^H/	/ɣĭəu^X/	/ɣĭəu^H/
Bernard Karlgren	/t͡sɑ^X/	/t͡sɑ^H/	/i̯ə̯u^X/	/i̯ə̯u^H/
Expected Mandarin Reflex	zuǒ	zuò	yǒu	yòu
Expected Cantonese Reflex	zo²	zo³	jau⁵	jau⁶

Old Chinese
(Baxter–Sagart): /*tsˤa[j]ʔ|tsˤarʔ-s [ɢ]ʷəʔ|[ɢ]ʷəʔ-s/
(Zhengzhang): /*ʔsaːlʔ|ʔsaːls ɢʷɯʔ|ɢʷɯs/

Baxter–Sagart system 1.1 (2014)
Character	左	左	左	右	右
Reading #	1/3	2/3	3/3	1/2	2/2
Modern Beijing (Pinyin)	zuǒ	zuǒ	zuǒ	yòu	yòu
Middle Chinese	‹ tsa^X ›	‹ tsa^X ›	‹ tsa^H ›	‹ hjuw^X ›	‹ hjuw^H ›
Old Chinese	/*tsˁa[j]ʔ/	/*tsˁa[j]ʔ/	/*tsˁarʔ-s/	/*[ɢ]ʷəʔ/	/[ɢ]ʷəʔ-s/ (~ m-qʷəʔ)
English	left (side)	assist	assist	right hand	right hand
Notes for Old Chinese notations in the Baxter–Sagart system: * Parentheses "()" indicate uncertain presence; * Square brackets "[]" indicate uncertain identity, e.g. [t] as coda may in fact be -t or -p; Angle brackets "<>" indicate infix; * Hyphen "-" indicates morpheme boundary; * Period "." indicates syllable boundary.

Zhengzhang system (2003)
Character	左	左	右	右
Reading #	1/2	2/2	1/2	2/2
No.	18004	18006	15597	15604
Phonetic component	左	左	又	又
Rime group	歌	歌	之	之
Rime subdivision	1	1	0	0
Corresponding MC rime	左	佐	有	宥
Old Chinese	/*ʔsaːlʔ/	/*ʔsaːls/	/*ɢʷɯʔ/	/*ɢʷɯs/

Noun

左右

left and right
left and right sides; both sides
- 參差荇菜，左右流之。…窈窕淑女，琴瑟友之。參差荇菜、左右芼之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, trad.]
  参差荇菜，左右流之。…窈窕淑女，琴瑟友之。参差荇菜、左右芼之。 [Pre-Classical Chinese, simp.]
  From: The Classic of Poetry, c. 11^th – 7^th centuries BCE, translated based on James Legge's version
  Cēncī xìngcài, zuǒyòu liú zhī.... Yǎotiǎoshūnǚ, qínsè yǒu zhī. Cēncī xìngcài, zuǒ yòu mào zhī. [Pinyin]
  Here long, there short, is the duckweed, To the left, to the right, borne about by the current. […]
  The modest, retiring, virtuous, young lady: With lutes, small and large, let us give her friendly welcome.
  Here long, there short, is the duckweed; On the left, on the right, we cook and present it.
entourage; retinue; attendants

Adverb

左右

about; or so; or thereabouts; around
他身高可能在三米左右。 [MSC, trad. and simp.]
Tā shēngāo kěnéng zài sān mǐ zuǒyòu. [Pinyin]
He was about three meters tall.
30分鐘左右 [Cantonese, trad.]
30分钟左右 [Cantonese, simp.]
saam¹ sap⁶ fan¹ zung¹ zo² jau^6-2 [Jyutping]
about 30 minutes
我估計溫度都在十度左右吧。 [MSC, trad.]
我估计温度都在十度左右吧。 [MSC, simp.]
Wǒ gūjì wēndù dōu zài shí dù zuǒyòu ba. [Pinyin]
I guess the temperature is around ten degrees now.

Synonyms

edit

Synonyms of 左右

上下 (shàngxià)
光景 (guāngjǐng)
大抵 (dàdǐ)
大概 (dàgài)
大率 (dàshuài) (literary)
大致 (dàzhì)
前後／前后 (qiánhòu) (of a point in or period of time)

參差／参差 (cēncī) (literary)
大約／大约 (dàyuē)
大約摸／大约摸 (dàyuēmō) (colloquial)
模樣／模样 (múyàng)
約摸／约摸 (yuēmo)
約略／约略 (yuēlüè)

Verb

左右

to control; to manipulate; to influence

Synonyms

edit

Synonyms of 左右

主宰 (zhǔzǎi)
克制 (kèzhì)
克治 (kèzhì) (literary)
君 (jūn) (literary)
局限 (júxiàn)
把 (bǎ)
把持 (bǎchí)
把控 (bǎkòng)
抑制 (yìzhì)
抵制 (dǐzhì)
拘束 (jūshù)
按 (àn)
按捺 (ànnà) (usually in the negative)
掌控 (zhǎngkòng)
掌握 (zhǎngwò)
控 (kòng) (literary, or in compounds)
控制 (kòngzhì)
提控 (tíkòng) (literary)
操控 (cāokòng)
支配 (zhīpèi)
束 (shù) (literary, or in compounds)
柄 (bǐng) (literary, or in compounds)
框 (kuàng)
管制 (guǎnzhì)
管束 (guǎnshù)

裁 (cái) (literary, or in compounds)
遏抑 (èyì) (literary)
限 (xiàn) (formal, or in compounds)
限乏 (Xiamen Hokkien)
限制 (xiànzhì)
主張／主张 (zhǔzhāng) (archaic)
制約／制约 (zhìyuē)
執掌／执掌 (zhízhǎng)
壓制／压制 (yāzhì)
撙節／撙节 (zǔnjié)
撥弄／拨弄 (bōnòng)
操縱／操纵 (cāozòng)
擺佈／摆布 (bǎibù)
擺治／摆治 (bǎizhì) (regional)
收斂／收敛 (shōuliǎn)
束縛／束缚 (shùfù)
禁錮／禁锢 (jìngù) (figurative)
積壓／积压 (jīyā) (figurative)
節制／节制 (jiézhì)
約束／约束 (yuēshù)
統御／统御 (tǒngyù) (literary)
統治／统治 (tǒngzhì)
羈束／羁束 (jīshù) (literary)
鎮／镇 (zhèn)
駕馭／驾驭 (jiàyù) (figurative)

Derived terms

左右手 (zuǒyòushǒu)
左右逢源 (zuǒyòuféngyuán)

左右為難／左右为难 (zuǒyòuwéinán)
左右開弓／左右开弓

Descendants

Sino-Xenic (左右):

→ Japanese: 左(さ)右(ゆう) (sayū)
→ Korean: 좌우(左右) (jwau)
→ Vietnamese: tả hữu (左右)

Japanese

Kanji in this term
左	右
さ Grade: 1	ゆう Grade: 1
on’yomi

Etymology 1

From 左(さ) (sa, “left”) + 右(ゆう) (yū, “right”).

Pronunciation

On’yomi

(Tokyo) さゆう [sáꜜyùù] (Atamadaka – [1])[1]
IPA^(key): [sa̠jɯ̟ᵝː]

Noun

左(さ)右(ゆう) • (sayū)

left and right
横(おう)断(だん)歩(ほ)道(どう)を渡(わた)る前(まえ)には、左(さ)右(ゆう)を確(かく)認(にん)する。
Ōdanhodō o wataru mae ni wa, sayū o kakunin suru.
Check left and right before you cross the road.
both sides
control
influence

Synonyms

(right and left): 右(みぎ)左(ひだり) (migihidari)
(control): 支(し)配(はい) (shihai)
(influence): 影(えい)響(きょう) (eikyō)

Derived terms

上下左右
前後左右
左右一対
左右軸
左右相称
左右対称

Verb

左(さ)右(ゆう)する • (sayū suru) suru (stem 左(さ)右(ゆう)し (sayū shi), past 左(さ)右(ゆう)した (sayū shita))

to sway, to influence
to have under one's control

Conjugation

Conjugation of "左右する" (See Appendix:Japanese verbs.)

Stem forms
Imperfective (未然形)	左右し	さゆうし	sayū shi
Continuative (連用形)	左右し	さゆうし	sayū shi
Terminal (終止形)	左右する	さゆうする	sayū suru
Attributive (連体形)	左右する	さゆうする	sayū suru
Hypothetical (仮定形)	左右すれ	さゆうすれ	sayū sure
Imperative (命令形)	左右せよ¹ 左右しろ²	さゆうせよ¹ さゆうしろ²	sayū seyo¹ sayū shiro²
Key constructions
Passive	左右される	さゆうされる	sayū sareru
Causative	左右させる左右さす	さゆうさせるさゆうさす	sayū saseru sayū sasu
Potential	左右できる	さゆうできる	sayū dekiru
Volitional	左右しよう	さゆうしよう	sayū shiyō
Negative	左右しない	さゆうしない	sayū shinai
Negative continuative	左右せず	さゆうせず	sayū sezu
Formal	左右します	さゆうします	sayū shimasu
Perfective	左右した	さゆうした	sayū shita
Conjunctive	左右して	さゆうして	sayū shite
Hypothetical conditional	左右すれば	さゆうすれば	sayū sureba
¹ Written imperative ² Spoken imperative

Noun

左右(そう) • (sō) ^{←さう (sau)^?}

(obsolete) left and right
letter; tidings
Synonym: 便り (tayori)
- 1883, 아메노모리 호슈(雨森芳洲) [Amenomori Hōshū], “晝夜”, in 浦瀬裕, editor, 재간교린수지(再刊交隣須知) (Jaegan'gyorinsuji)‎^{NDL NLK}, volume 1, 外務省 edition:
  初七日七日コロハサウガアリマセウ
  shonanoka nanoka koro wa sō ga arimashō
  7th: There will probably be tidings on the 7th.
  初七日 초(初)일엣날ᄶᅳᆷ 긔별(寄別)이 잇ᄉᆞ오리 (original Korean)
- 1883, 아메노모리 호슈(雨森芳洲) [Amenomori Hōshū], “語辭”, in 浦瀬裕, editor, 재간교린수지(再刊交隣須知) (Jaegan'gyorinsuji)‎^{NDL NLK}, volume 3, 外務省 edition:
  又マタヨイ左右ガキソウニゴザル
  mata mata yoi sō ga kisō ni gozaru
  Again: It seems like good tidings may come again.
  又 ᄯᅩ 됴흔 긔별(寄別)이 올 듯허오 (original Korean)

Noun

左(さ)右(う) • (sau)

(obsolete) left and right

Etymology 4

For pronunciation and definitions of 左右 – see the following entry.

【とかく】

[adverb] being apt to; being prone to; tending to

[adverb] (in the form of とかくの (tokaku no)) all sorts of (negative things); various

[adverb] this and that

[adverb] anyway, anyhow

[noun] (idiomatic, Buddhism) things that do not exist; rabbit horns

Alternative spellings
兎角, 左右

(This term, 左右, is an alternative spelling of the above term.)

References

2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN

Korean

Hanja in this term
左	右

Noun

左右 • (jwau) (hangeul 좌우)

Hanja form^? of 좌우 (“left and right”).

Vietnamese

Hán tự in this term
左	右

Noun

左右

chữ Hán form of tả hữu (“left and right”).

[DJR-1] 2006, 大辞林 (Daijirin), Third Edition (in Japanese), Tōkyō: Sanseidō, →ISBN